Michael Traikos: It’s when — not if — Alex Ovechkin breaks Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goal-scoring record

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Moments after the loss, the guy who needs something like three more 40-goal seasons to break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time scoring record was slumped over in the visitors’ dressing room stewing over all the opportunities he missed in the second straight game without finding the back of the net.

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It’s far too early in the season to panic. But for Alex Ovechkin, who is third on the all-time scoring list, it’s not too early to remind himself that he needs to be better.

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“Execution,” said the 37-year-old, his thinning salt-and-pepper hair making him look much older than his actual age. “The first power play I hit the crossbar. And then in the second period, I missed an open net. I think it’s execution and I’m maybe afraid to get the simple play and get one extra shot to find the dirty girl. But we just have to fight through it.”

This is a glimpse into the mindset of what makes Ovechkin the most prolific goal-scorer that the NHL has ever seen. This is why he has been so consistent over the years. Why he’s captured a record nine Rocket Richard Trophies and scored 50 goals more times than anyone, something he did for the ninth time last season.

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It’s also why Gretzky said on the “NHL on TNT” panel a few nights ago that it’s only a matter of “when — not if” his record of 894 goals is eventually broken.

After all, Ovechkin, who has 780 goals, is a perfectionist.

Every time he takes a shot, he expects it to go in. Is actually shocked when it doesn’t. And though it might look like he’s slowed down a bit recently, he’s still firing the puck a lot. More than ever, actually.

In a 5-2 loss against Boston on Wednesday, he had four shots on net and another three that were blocked. One night later, he had 14 attempts in a 3-2 loss against Toronto — including the one that whizzed by goalie Ilya Samsonov’s ear and rang off the cross-bar. Afterwards, he skated over to the Maple Leafs goalie, presumably to let him know how lucky he was.

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“My old teammates, a lot of talking with me today,” said Samsonov, who spent three years facing Ovechkin’s shot in practice. “Lots of bad words. That’s fine.”

If Ovechkin was frustrated, it has more to do with the team’s early struggles than his luck around the net these days. The goals are going to come. When you’ve got a one-timer like Ovechkin’s, you can practically score 50 goals while standing in his office at the left side of the face-off dot.

Victories, as evidenced by Washington’s 0-2 start to the season, are no longer a given for a player who has qualified for the playoffs in eight straight years.

That matters to Ovechkin, who doesn’t want to score 50 goals while playing on a non-playoff team. He certainly doesn’t want to break Gretzky’s record — or pass Gordie Howe, who is second on the all-time list with 801 goals — while playing meaningless hockey games. Especially now that Gretzky plans on traveling with the Capitals so he can be there when it happens.

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“You just want to get to the (playoff) games,” Ovechkin told reporters on the eve of the season. “Right now, for us, every point is very important. We’re going to try to win every game. Our goal is to make the (playoffs) and it starts from there.”

More and more, it’s looking like that will be difficult.

This is not the same Washington team that after years of heartbreak finally broke through and won a Stanley Cup in 2018. For one, it’s a lot older. And it’s not just Ovechkin who has gone gray. TJ Oshie turns 36 in December and Nicklas Backstrom, whose playing future is in doubt after undergoing hip resurfacing surgery, will be 35 next month.

A changing of the guard is coming. It’s been coming for some time, with Toronto’s Auston Matthews having replaced Ovechkin as the NHL’s most dangerous scorer after winning the past two Rocket Richard Trophies. And with Connor McDavid having dethroned Sidney Crosby as the NHL’s best player.

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But it’s more than that.

With rosters that are starting to age out, the days when you could pencil in Washington, Pittsburgh or Boston as a Stanley Cup contender have passed by. Last year, the Capitals and Bruins qualified for the playoffs as wild card teams that went out in the first round. And while the Penguins haven’t missed the playoffs since Crosby was a rookie in 2005-06, they have also gone five years without winning a round.

With up-and-coming teams like Ottawa, Detroit and Columbus making a push, don’t be surprised if one, two or even three of these legacy teams end up missing out this year. This might explain why the Capitals were taking two losses to heart at the beginning of the year.

“Every point is countable,” said Ovechkin. “We had a chance to tie the game at the end, but we didn’t. Nothing we can do now. We have to work through it.

“It’s only our (second) game together. We’ll see. We had some chances. We have to talk and figure out what we need to do out there. Obviously, it’s not the start we want. But we have to fight and get better and play better for the next one.”

It comes down to execution. And ultimately, it comes down to Ovechkin finding the back of the net. Just as he’s done time and time again for the past 17 years.

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